Razor-thin fight to finish

Wednesday

Nov 7, 2012 at 12:01 AMNov 7, 2012 at 12:05 AM

Neither 5th Senate District candidate was ready to call the result late Tuesday even as Republican Bill Berryhill was leading Democrat Cathleen Galgiani by a tally of 51.8 percent to 48.2 percent in early returns.

Dana M. Nichols

Neither 5th Senate District candidate was ready to call the result late Tuesday even as Republican Bill Berryhill was leading Democrat Cathleen Galgiani by a tally of 51.8 percent to 48.2 percent in early returns.

The race between Galgiani and Berryhill, both Assembly members, was always expected to be tight, and it remained that way Tuesday with mail ballots and 20.6 percent of precincts reporting.

Each campaign saw reason to be hopeful about the early returns.

"I think it's going to be a long night," Berryhill said. "We are cautiously optimistic, but we will see how it goes."

Galgiani campaign manager Thomas Lawson predicted that later returns from Galgiani's "stronghold" in San Joaquin County would likely tip the vote her way.

"It is going to be a long night. It is going to be close. We never doubted that for a moment," Lawson said.

Fifteen days before the election, the 5th Senate District had almost a five-point Democratic registration advantage. Political scientists said Democratic candidates need at least that much of a margin, or a little more, because Republicans are more likely to turn out and vote.

Meanwhile, various independent political action groups in the past few months reported spending more than $1 million to oppose Galgiani and almost an additional $1 million to support her.

And that's in addition to the $1.6 million Galgiani raised for herself this year. Berryhill raised about $1.8 million in the same period.

The race drew attention and money for several reasons. Not only was it competitive, thanks to a new district drawn by the Citizens Commission on Redistricting, but it could also determine whether Democrats gain a two-thirds supermajority in the state Senate. That would allow Democrats to pass certain measures, such as tax increases, without any Republican support.

Galgiani and Berryhill are known political figures.

Still, even with the television ads and fliers showing up in mailboxes, most voters Tuesday said they were focused mostly on the presidential race and that values and party affiliations shaped how they voted lower on the ballot.

Don Cowan, 52, has lived in Tracy for 23 years. He's stayed registered as a Democrat, but he said he tends to vote Republican. And he voted for Berryhill along with other Republicans running for state and federal offices.

He described himself as a fiscal conservative who believes in pension reform and reducing deficits. And victories by the Republicans he chose will move things in the right direction, he said. "If it goes the way I want it to, I think there's going to be some change."

Nigel Perez, 31, is a Tracy resident. He's a registered Democrat and he voted for Democrats for state and federal offices, including for Galgiani.

"They look out for the little guy," he said. He said he approves of the party's approach to health care and promoting fairness in tax policy.